Leicester students come together to be the change with Hastings Direct

Students from Leicester came together this week to continue the inspirational Be the Change Programme sponsored by Hastings Direct, and delivered by LoveLocalJobs.com and Humanutopia.

Meeting at the Curve Theatre on Wednesday, year 9 students from Manor High School, Welland Park Community College and Madani Schools Federation became 'Heroes' to year 5 children from Brookside Primary School. Together they followed an exploration into the development of life skills such as communicating with others, working within groups and understanding the effect of behaviour. Together both cohorts explored the importance of happiness and inner confidence, as well as hope for the future and supporting others along the way.

Tackling issues that asked the students to push themselves out of their comfort zones, the 13 and 14 year olds were encouraged to mix with peers they would not usually interact with, making conversation with the adult business mentors and exploring the benefits of taking these skills forward into their working life, as well as the importance of adopting them in their personal lives.

Mo Ebrahim, a teacher from Madani Schools Federation said; "It has been incredible to see the children really open and respond to the Be the Change programme. To see them work with younger students and mentor them through tasks has been amazing."

Tayyib, a year 9 student from Madani Boys commented; "The course is fun and exciting and gives lots of opportunities to gain hope and confidence for the future. It's great to learn skills that might mean you are more likely to get a job later on in life."

Niemh, a year 8 student from Manor High School added; "Be the Change is really inspiring because we get to build our confidence and have hope for the future. I am much more confident in myself from the course and find myself doing things I haven't experienced before."

Jay Wootten, Community Liaison and CSR Executive, Hastings Direct said; "It was great to see students from five different Leicester schools come together to mentor and help each other in the education journey that lays ahead of them."

Be The Change aims to raise the aspirations of year 9 students (aged 13–14), helping them to remove barriers that may make them disengaged at school and provide them with life skills to take into the future.

Speaking directly to the students throughout the day, Graham Moore, Co-founder, Humanutopia reflected; "Today, we experienced an amazing degree of maturity and positive attitude from Leicester's year 9 students. Not only did they conduct themselves with dignity amongst their fellow students, they demonstrated responsibility and trust beyond their years when joined by the year 5 children. Both the pupils and teachers should be immensely proud of the way the life skills have been embraced. Once again, the business volunteers from Hastings Direct have given the 13 and 14 years olds trusted guidance and support and should be proud of the difference they are making."

Rosanna Farrar, Head of Partnerships and Events, LoveLocalJobs.com said; "As Be the Change reaches its half-way point, it is incredible to witness the engagement of the students as they continue to contemplate both their personal and professional lives and recognise the power they possess to shape their future. The partnership between LoveLocalJobs, Humanutopia and Hastings Direct continues to prove a strong collaboration bringing expertise, inspiration and support to the young people."

For more information on Be the Change — visit about.lovelocaljobs.com

About LoveLocalJobs.com

LoveLocalJobs.com has an award winning family of regional job boards in Sussex and Surrey. It works proactively to link businesses, universities, colleges and schools, public sector, charities and community groups and other organisations to promote and create local employment opportunities in the South East, whilst also providing much needed careers, information, advice and guidance to local businesses and job-seekers alike.

About Humanutopia

Humanutopia is a social business that creates and runs inspirational courses in schools for students and staff. Their courses are based on personal, social and workplace skills development, and improve the hope, confidence, happiness, relationships, and employability of participating students. Over the last 11 years Humanutopia have worked with over 200,000 young people, 200 schools, 25,000 adults and 20,000 heroes.